The current Hyundai i30 Sedan is already no shrinking violet from a design point of view, but its successor – revealed at this week’s Busan Mobility Show in Korea – is even more aggressively styled.
CarExpert understands the new i30 Sedan – sold in Korea as the Avante, and elsewhere as the Elantra – will be launched in Australia during the first half of 2027, with petrol and hybrid power likely. Orders will open in Korea in the third quarter (July to September) of 2026.
It has grown in size, with length increased by 55mm – 30mm in the wheelbase alone – and width up by 30mm.
That makes the new-generation sedan 4765mm long, 1855mm wide and 1425mm tall on a 2750mm wheelbase, pulling the i30 Sedan ever closer to the mid-size passenger car segment.
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It’s not only bigger, it’s bolder too, with the new sedan migrating to the Art of Steel design language debuted on the second-generation Nexo.
Hyundai’s small sedan now wears slim vertical and horizontal lighting elements front and rear and bulging, sharply creased fenders. The front and rear ends also feature sharply angled surfaces, with the boot lid designed to simulate a spoiler and the rear bumper featuring a distinctive diffuser, while the vehicle was revealed with 18-inch alloy wheels.
It also features flush, lift-up door handles and a six-window roofline featuring a rear-quarter window separated from the rear door windows by a thick pillar, which ties the i30 Sedan in with the large Grandeur sedan.
The interior closely resembles the recently revealed Ioniq 3, with a large touchscreen above a row of physical controls and a pair of air vents, plus a slim, high-mounted digital instrument cluster and distinctive dashboard padding.
Gone is the angled centre stack and prominent centre console divider that gave the outgoing i30 Sedan a sporty, asymmetrical look inside.
There’s a choice of 12.9-inch or 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreens, up from 8.0 inches or 10.25 inches in the current car. These feature anchored shortcuts at the base of the screen.
It runs Hyundai’s new Android Automotive-based Pleos Connect infotainment system, which debuted on the Grandeur, effectively meaning Hyundai’s small sedan skips a generation of infotainment. The new sedan also features Hyundai’s new generative and conversational AI agent, Gleo AI.
Newly available interior colours include Cognac, Ivory Rose and Chalk Beige, while a Bang & Olufsen sound system is available and 100W ultra-fast USB charging ports can be found in both the front and rear of the cabin.
Hyundai has detailed just two four-cylinder powertrains for now, a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre and a hybrid 1.6-litre, though a turbocharged 2.5-litre is set to come in the as-yet unrevealed N. This was teased by executive technical advisor Albert Biermann back in 2023.
The 2.0-litre produces an unchanged 110kW of power, and continues to use Hyundai’s IVT continuously variable transmission (CVT).
The 1.6-litre hybrid produces 115kW of power, up 11kW. Hyundai says it has eked out more power through improvement of the electric motor and transmission, while the battery has also grown in capacity; efficiency has also been claimed to be improved.
The hybrid gains Smart Regenerative Braking 3.0 and Hybrid Hierarchical Predictive Control System, which claims to analyse the route and road conditions to control the battery charge amount and thereby improve real-world fuel efficiency.
A new Stay Mode allows you to use functions such as the infotainment and climate control “for a certain period while stationary, just like an electric vehicle”.
The suite of active safety and driver assist technology has also been upgraded. Navigation-based Smart Cruise Control 2 can slow the vehicle down for speed bumps and intersections, before returning to the previously set speed, while Pedal Misuse Safety Assist will limit acceleration if the vehicle believes the pedal has been mistakenly pressed in low-speed driving.
Memory Reversing Assist can, as the name suggests, remember the vehicle’s trajectory and control the steering when you’re parking.
Other safety tech includes blind-spot assist, Hyundai’s Blind-Spot View Monitor, Highway Driving Assist 2, rear cross-traffic assist, and a surround-view camera.
“The All-New Avante is a model that sets a new standard for its class by balancing unrivalled design, interior space, safety, and digital experience,” said Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jose Munoz.
“Moving forward, Hyundai Motor will continue to secure competitiveness in software and electrification to deliver innovative mobility experiences.”
The outgoing i30 Sedan/Avante/Elantra entered production in 2020. It was the first generation of Hyundai’s small sedan to adopt the i30 Sedan nameplate locally, replacing Elantra.
This allowed Hyundai to combine sales of the sedan with the i30 Hatch, which uses an older platform. ‘Regular’ versions of the i30 Hatch were recently phased out in Australia, while the hot i30 Hatch N is being retired in 2027.
That will leave Hyundai without a small hatch, despite sister brand Kia offering both sedan and hatchback versions of its related K4.